Robert Stein (1950)

Robert Stein (1972)

Robert Stein (2000s)

About Me

editor, publisher, media critic and journalism teacher,
is a former Chairman of the American Society of Magazine Editors, and author of “Media Power: Who Is Shaping Your Picture of the World?” Before the war in Iraq, he wrote in The New York Times: “I see a generation gap in the debate over going to war in Iraq. Those of us who fought in World War II know there was no instant or easy glory in being part of 'The Greatest Generation,' just as we knew in the 1990s that stock-market booms don’t last forever.
We don’t have all the answers, but we want to spare our children and grandchildren from being slaughtered by politicians with a video-game mentality."
This is not meant to extol geezer wisdom but suggest that, even in our age of 24/7 hot flashes, something can be said for perspective.
The Web is a wide space for spreading news, but it can also be a deep well of collective memory to help us understand today’s world. In olden days, tribes kept village elders around to remind them with which foot to begin the ritual dance. Start the music.

Friday, August 08, 2008

The Clintons Go All Out for Obama

To the untrained eye, they seem to be overspreading the Democratic Convention like those kudzu vines that grow a foot every day to eventually blot out everything in sight, but the Clintons insist they are doing it all for Barack Obama.

Hillary will speak one night and Bill will hold forth the next after, if all goes according to their plan, Clinton supporters get "catharsis" by nominating her and, in her words, "yell and scream and have their opportunity."

In the Denver streets outside, a grassroots group will be marching and holding a festival "to celebrate Clinton's achievement and advocate for women's rights."

All this, according to Hillary, is for the benefit of Obama: “We do not want any Democrat in the hall or in the stadium or at home walking away saying, ‘I’m just not satisfied, I’m not happy.’ That’s what I’m trying to avoid.”

The two former rivals for the nomination issued a joint statement yesterday: "At the Democratic convention, we will ensure that the voices of everyone who participated in this historic process are respected and our party will be fully unified heading into the November election."

Meanwhile, the former President extolled Obama this week with a ringing statement, "I think he should win, and I think he will win." With oratory like that, Bill Clinton is likely to stampede the convention to fever pitch.